4 ms·

Props to PA for the honesty though. There's plenty of jobs like this out in small businesses that only need/can afford one "IT guy" to run everything, and most

Props to PA for the honesty though. There's plenty of jobs like this out in small businesses that only need/can afford one "IT guy" to run everything, and most will have pretty much this exact set of requirements (can't pay crazy dot-com salaries, has to be able to do a bit of everything, be on-call 24/7 if the shit really hits the fan), but how many of them would actually spell it out?

ceejayoz 13y ago
Sure, but those small businesses generally aren't making the one IT guy run a massively high-traffic website while putting on the largest gaming convention on the planet, right?
icebraining 13y ago
What kind of small business needs 24/7 support?
- jpatokal 13y ago
  Any small business that's selling something online. If the website falls over so badly it can't sell anymore, and there's only one guy who knows how to fix it, guess who's going to get the 2 AM call from the boss?
- TillE 13y ago
  It's a good point, at least in this case. Nobody's going to die if PA goes down for a few hours, and they're not even going to lose millions. Being asked to work a few extra hours when PAX tickets go on sale or something would be reasonable. On call 24/7 is just gratuitous.
slantyyz 13y ago
While the ad is not the kind of job I would want, I have to say, I appreciated its... bluntness. The fact that there are red flags means that the few candidates who actually apply know full well what they're getting into and that nobody's time is wasted.
wpietri 13y ago
Are people being honestly exploitative better or worse? Generally, I'd say worse. Your average small business with one IT guy isn't going to blow sunshine up your ass about what a magical, special place it is to work, which is why they won't pay you what you're worth and expect you to work stupid hours while demanding high-end qualifications. They'll know that they're hiring a generic IT guy and be happy with somebody who just got their associate's degree and likes playing with hardware. They won't be expecting you to run a high-volume website with 24/7 uptime and being eternally on call. And if they do expect too much, it's not because they've thought it through; it's just because they're generally demanding people who are kinda clueless. Often, a good conversation with somebody like that can get you some space, or an assistant, or a raise. Here, though, they know that they're asking for a unicorn, and they know they're going to treat them poorly, and they just don't give a shit.

ceejayoz 13y ago

Sure, but those small businesses generally aren't making the one IT guy run a massively high-traffic website while putting on the largest gaming convention on the planet, right?

icebraining 13y ago

What kind of small business needs 24/7 support?

jpatokal 13y ago
Any small business that's selling something online. If the website falls over so badly it can't sell anymore, and there's only one guy who knows how to fix it, guess who's going to get the 2 AM call from the boss?
TillE 13y ago
It's a good point, at least in this case. Nobody's going to die if PA goes down for a few hours, and they're not even going to lose millions. Being asked to work a few extra hours when PAX tickets go on sale or something would be reasonable. On call 24/7 is just gratuitous.

slantyyz 13y ago

While the ad is not the kind of job I would want, I have to say, I appreciated its... bluntness. The fact that there are red flags means that the few candidates who actually apply know full well what they're getting into and that nobody's time is wasted.

wpietri 13y ago

Are people being honestly exploitative better or worse? Generally, I'd say worse. Your average small business with one IT guy isn't going to blow sunshine up your ass about what a magical, special place it is to work, which is why they won't pay you what you're worth and expect you to work stupid hours while demanding high-end qualifications. They'll know that they're hiring a generic IT guy and be happy with somebody who just got their associate's degree and likes playing with hardware. They won't be expecting you to run a high-volume website with 24/7 uptime and being eternally on call. And if they do expect too much, it's not because they've thought it through; it's just because they're generally demanding people who are kinda clueless. Often, a good conversation with somebody like that can get you some space, or an assistant, or a raise. Here, though, they know that they're asking for a unicorn, and they know they're going to treat them poorly, and they just don't give a shit.